Google's new Nexus Q may be the last stereo appliance you buy for your home entertainment system. It streams music from your Android phone to your speakers and video to your television, supports built-in streaming from YouTube or your Google account and any music you may have stored at Google Music, and can even let your friends in on the action by connecting to their devices and streaming their music and movies to your entertainment system.

The Nexus Q connects to your speakers and your television via HDMI (or Micro HDMI), and to your speakers through standard banana jack connectors (or Optical audio), and connects to your home network via Wi-Fi or 10/100 Ethernet. Once it's all hooked up and connected, you can use your Android device as a remote control to stream media on your Android device or stored in the cloud to your entertainment center.

If you're thinking this sounds a lot like a set-top box, you're close. The Nexus Q is less of a set-top box and more a bridge between your Android phone or tablet (or both) and your home entertainment system. The wireless streaming features are a bit like Apple's Airplay. You even control the volume and playback of your media from your Android device.

If you're eager to get your hands on the little black sphere, the Nexus Q will set you back $299, ships in mid-July, and is available for pre-order now.